Ski binding with clamping bail

ABSTRACT

In a ski binding of the toe binding type with clamping bail, in which a spring-loaded lever supported on the bail for pivotal movement releasably and adjustably engages a fixed toothing, the lever is supported directly in lateral angles formed by the legs of the bail, so as to be wedged therein, whereby the bail itself will afford the spring load required for making the lever engage the toothing and is also held resiliently engaged in the toe iron lugs.

United States Patent [191 With [ Nov. 25, 1975 SKI BINDING WITH CLAMPING BAIL [76] Inventor: Bror With, Jarlsborgveien 1, Oslo,

Norway 22 Filed: June 26,1974

21 Appl.No.:483,368

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data July 2, 1973 Norway 2704/73 {52] U.S. Cl ..280/11.35 B [51] Int. Cl. A63C 9/00 [58] Field of Search 280/11.35 B, 11.35 N; 24/252 PC, 246

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,682,415 6/1954 With 280/11.35 B 3,715,127 2/1973 With 280/1 1.35 B 3,823,953 7/1974 With 280/1 1.35 B

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 119,009 3/1970 Norway 280/ll.35 B 57,596 2/1937 Norway 280/1 1.35 B

Primary ExaminerLeo Friaglia Assistant Examiner-David M. Mitchell Attorney, Agent, or Firm.lohnson, Dienner, Emrich & Wagner [57] ABSTRACT In a ski binding of the toe binding type with clamping bail, in which a spring-loaded lever supported on the bail for pivotal movement releasably and adjustably engages a fixed toothing, the lever is supported directly in lateral angles formed by the legs of the bail, so as to be wedged therein, whereby the bail itself will afford the spring load required for making the lever engage the toothing and is also held resiliently engaged in the toe iron lugs.

3 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures US. Patent Nov. 25, 1975 Y A AA u I I\\\\\ \I SKI BINDING WITH CLAMPING BAIL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The applicants prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,823,953 relates to a ski binding of the toe binding type having a clamping bail which at the rear is pivotally mounted in the toe iron lugs, and which is adapted to keep the boot in position while being pressed down resiliently on the upper face of the sole rim and in the position of use is connected to a fixed means located'on the ski in front of the toe of the boot by a connecting link in form of a'lever, which is supported on the bail at or behind the bight portion thereof and has a downwardly projecting arm adapted for releasably and preferably adjustably engaging said fixed means, and an arm which is accessible from above and can be pressed down for releasing the engagement. Thus, by this binding it is possible to combine the advantages of the popular and successful clamping bail bindings with a very easy attachment and detachment, since both locking and release take place merely by pressure from above.

The prior application shows the lever to be pivotally mounted on the bight of a bail by means of a separate particular fitting which at the same time affords the desired spring-load in engaged position. Further, it is also mentioned that in the case of bindings with bails extending forward beyond the fixed engagement means on the ski and provided with a crossbar as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,715,127 the lever may be mounted on the crossbar instead of on the bight.

In the bindings according to U.S. Pat. No, 3,823,95 the resilient supporting fitting which must be riveted to the lever constitutes a complication causing increased costs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has for an object to eliminate this drawback. According to the invention this is achieved due to the fact that the lever is supported directly on the legs of the bail at a point where these are formed with oppositely directed angles, the lever engaging the legs laterally within these angles.

Thereby the need for a separate supporting fitting is avoided, and as far as the spring-load is concerned, it will be possible with a convenient design to provide the same by utilizing the resiliency of the bail itself in its transverse direction due to the fact that the angles of a bail determine a neutral position from which the lever can only be moved by a wedging action on the bail legs while overcoming resilient resistance in the same. If the said angles are formed so as to point outwards from each other and the lever is therefore supported between the legs of the bail, it will also be capable of performing a function corresponding to that of the crossbar of the binding according to U.S. Pat. No. 3,715,127 in providing a spring bias on outwardly projecting end portions of the legs at their pivot points in the toe iron lugs.

The invention will be explained more in detail with reference to the drawings, which illustrate embodiments of the invention, and in which FIG. 1 is a top view of the binding in a preferred embodiment.

FIG. 2 shows the same binding in vertical longitudinal section along the line IIII in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment in a corresponding section.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IVIV in FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The binding shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has a toe iron 1 of a form which in most respects is well known for toe bindings with clamping bails, having a foot plate 2 with integral lateral flanges 3 which at the rear constitutes the toe iron lugs and at the front are curved inwards in front of the toe of the boot and again forwards along either side of a central extension of the foot plate. Further, the foot plate has locking studs 4 for the sole of the boot and screw holes 5 for the attachement on the ski, and in the toe iron lugs there is pivoted a clamping bail 6 having free rear extremities resiliently engaging recesses 7 in the toe iron lugs, and the legs of which are curved inwards over the sole rim and further forwards beyond the toe iron with the bight portion 8 at a distance in front of the extension of the toe iron.

Attached to the said extension by a rivet 20 between the lateral flanges is a keeper member 9 having at the front a vertical toothing 10 for adjustable engagement with a rearwardly projecting hook I] on a downwardly extending arm 12 of an angular lever 13, the other arm 14 of which extends rearwards from a supporting point in the bail 6. For performing the supporting function a transversely bent portion 15 of the lever 13, which is formed of a bent piece of metal sheeting, is formed with a recess 16 in each lateral edge and here engages lateral angles'17 formed in the legs of the bail. The lever 13 has such dimensions relative to the bail 6 that it keeps it under spring bias in the supporting recesses 7, so that the lever itself is subjected to compressive spring-load in the transverse direction. In released position of the hook 11 it will therefore be held in a well defined neutral position by means of the angles 17 and can only be moved from this position by a wedging action while overcoming lateral resilient resistance in the bail. The neutral position is chosen so that when the bail is pressed down against the sole rim the book 11 will slide over the teeth of the toothing 10 while overcoming resilient resistance in the bail and will therefore in locked position be held in engagement with the desired notch. Release is effected by downward pressure on the arm 14, which is usually accessible from above, and, besides, is formed with a recess 18 facilitating release by means of the point of a ski pole.

The embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 differs from the one shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 in that the keeper member 9 is omitted and the side flanges 3' of the toe iron are instead provided with a toothing 10' at the front edge. Further, the bail 6' is shorter than in the first embodiment, so that the bight 8' extends just in front of the toothing l0 and inside the arm 12' of the lever 13'. Here again the lever 13' has a transversely bent portion 15' between the angles of the bail legs, but unlike in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, this portion is here bent downwards from the arm 12' instead of upwards, and the actuating arm 14' then extends up between the bail legs in order to be accessible on top of the bail.

The functions will be as in the first embodiment, except that for attachment pressure will be exerted on the upper side of the arm 12' instead of on the front part of the bail.

In both cases mounting will be very simple. At first, with the bail in free condition the lever is forced into position and thereafter the free extremities of the bail legs are pressed inwards towards each other to an ex tent sufficient for being snapped into the recesses 7.

As will easily be understood the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has the advantage of requiring particularly little force for attachement, whereas the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 has the advantage of a particularly compact design.

Other modifications may be contemplated within the scope of the invention. Thus, in an adjustable binding it will not be necessary to have the toothing on a fixed member and always engaged by the same point of the lever, the reverse arrangement being also possible, although the disposition elected is definitely preferable since it permits the lever to have the same angular stroke for the same penetration depth in all adjusted positions. Further, it is not necessary to have the angles of the bail pointing outwards and acting inwards on the lever, the reverse disposition being possible even in this respect, although even here the arrangement shown is preferable because it is simpler and in addition easily provides the desirable lateral spring bias of the bail. Still further, the fixed keeper member might be fixed separately to the ski in front of the toe iron instead of being attached to or integral with the same, although this would be less convenient, ie with respect to rational manufacture and exact adaptation of the cooperating parts.

What I claim is:

1. An improvement in a ski binding of the toe binding type for properly positioning a boot, said ski binding comprising a toe iron having upstanding toe iron lugs, a clamping bail having a pair of rear leg portions shaped to engage the sole rim of a boot about its toe portion with the rearward end of said rear leg portions pivotally mounted on said lugs, a keeper means fixedly disposed forwardly of said toe portion, said clamping bail having a pair of forward leg portions terminating into a forward bight portion; said improvement comprising a latching lever pivotally supported at its midsection by said forward leg portions, said lever having a forward arm portion projecting downwardly toward and forwardly of said keeper means and having a rearward arm portion which is accessible from above, said forward leg portions being formed with oppositely directed angular sections that laterally engage said latching lever mid-section to provide a spring-load on said lever in the transverse direction; and hook means for releasably connecting said forward arm portion to said keeper means.

2. The improvement in a ski binding as defined in claim 1, wherein said mid-section of said lever is bent transversely in the longitudinal vertical plane relative to the main direction of the forward leg portions of said clamping bail.

3.'The improvement in a ski binding as defined in claim 2, wherein said oppositely directed angular sections of said clamping bail extend outwardly of saidforward leg portions, and wherein said mid-section of said lever is formed with corresponding notched lateral edges which seat on said angular section of said forward leg portions. 

1. An improvement in a ski binding of the toe binding type for properly positioning a boot, said ski binding comprising a toe iron having upstanding toe iron lugs, a clamping bail having a pair of rear leg portions shaped to engage the sole rim of a boot about its toe portion with the rearward end of said rear leg portions pivotally mounted on said lugs, a keeper means fixedly disposed forwardly of said toe portion, said clamping bail having a pair of forward leg portions terminating into a forward bight portion; said improvement comprising a latching lever pivotally supported at its mid-section by said forward leg portions, said lever having a forward arm portion projecting downwardly toward and forwardly of said keeper means and having a rearward arm portion which is accessible from above, said forward leg portions being formed with oppositely directed angular sections that laterally engage said latching lever mid-section to provide a spring-load on said lever in the transverse direction; and hook means for releasably connecting said forward arm portion to said keeper means.
 2. The improvement in a ski binding as defined in claim 1, wherein said mid-section of said lever is bent transversely in the longitudinal vertical plane relative to the main direction of the forward leg portions of said clamping bail.
 3. The improvement in a ski binding as defined in claim 2, wherein said oppositely directed angular sections of said clamping bail extend outwardly of said forward leg portions, and wherein said mid-section of said lever is formed with corresponding notched lateral edges which seat on said angular section of said forward leg portions. 